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Last updated: 20 October 2026
This policy explains what personal data Teach Study English collects, why, how long we keep it and the rights you have. We've kept it short and plain: if anything isn't clear, ask us.
Teach Study English (teachstudyenglish.com) is run by Daniel Tomlinson, a private individual based in Spain. We are the data controller for the personal data described here: we decide why and how it is used.
For anything about your data, email hello@teachstudyenglish.com. We answer within one month.
Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we need a legal basis for each use of your data. These are the only ones we use:
| Data | Why we use it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting the site: IP address, browser and device type, pages requested, time | Delivering pages, keeping the site secure and finding faults. Kept in our hosting provider's short-term logs. | Legitimate interests (running a secure website), Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Guest ID: a random number stored in your browser and sent with things you save without an account (favourite games, ratings, game scores, settings) | Remembering what you saved, and moving it into your account if you create one later. It doesn't identify you by name. | Legitimate interests (providing the features you use), Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Account: name, email address, password (stored only as a secure hash), whether you teach or study | Creating and running your account, signing you in, and showing the right view of lesson pages. | Contract (providing the service you signed up for), Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Google sign-in: your name, email address and profile picture from Google | Signing you in with Google if you choose to. We never see your Google password. | Contract, Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Service emails to account holders: your name and email address | Telling you about important changes to the service, such as what stays free before subscriptions open, or changes to these documents. These aren't marketing, and they're rare. | Legitimate interests (keeping you informed about a service you use), Art. 6(1)(f) |
| PDF downloads: which PDFs your account downloaded, which lesson they belong to, and the week | Applying the weekly download limit (20 lessons or 50 PDFs), showing you your count, and counting downloads overall (as numbers only). | Contract (the fair use rules in our terms), Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Learning data: answers you check in online exercises and their scores, writing you save, game scores, favourites, ratings, settings | Saving your progress, showing your results, weekly leaderboards, and improving lessons that many people find hard. | Contract, Art. 6(1)(b); improving lessons: legitimate interests, Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Leaderboards: your first name and the initial of your surname, or "Guest", with your best weekly score | Showing weekly top scores to other players. We never show your email address. | Legitimate interests (a feature of the games), Art. 6(1)(f). Ask us to remove you at any time. |
| Feedback button: what you write, the kind (mistake, suggestion, problem), the page you sent it from, your account or guest ID, and your email only if you give it | Fixing mistakes and improving the site; replying if you asked us to. | Legitimate interests (keeping the materials accurate), Art. 6(1)(f); your email by consent, Art. 6(1)(a). |
| "Keep me updated" and "notify me": email address, where you signed up, any plan or topic you said you're interested in, the date | Emailing you news and new lessons now and then, when something you asked about opens, and before subscriptions open. It never signs you up for anything paid. | Consent, Art. 6(1)(a). Withdraw it at any time with the link in our emails or by writing to us. |
| Messages you send us: your email address and what you write | Answering you. | Legitimate interests, Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Payments (when membership opens): name, email, billing country, plan, payment status and invoices. Card details are handled by Stripe and never reach us. | Taking payment, managing your subscription, preventing fraud and keeping the records tax law requires. | Contract, Art. 6(1)(b); legal obligation (tax and accounting), Art. 6(1)(c) |
We don't collect special category data (such as health, religion or ethnic origin) and we ask you not to include it in writing tasks. We don't make decisions about you by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects, and we don't build advertising profiles.
Your answers in lesson exercises, writing drafts and game results (Step Up, Pair Up, Snap, the Retro arcade) are also saved in your browser's local storage, so you can pick up where you left off. This stays on your device and is not sent to us unless you have an account and the feature says it saves to your account. You can clear it at any time in Settings → This device or in your browser. See the cookie policy for the full list.
We keep stored data in the European Union where we can. Some providers (such as our hosting provider, Google and Stripe) are based in, or have staff in, the United States. Where data leaves the European Economic Area, it's protected by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (for certified companies) or by the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, with extra safeguards where needed. Ask us for a copy of the safeguards that apply.
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Account and learning data | Until you delete your account. Deletion is immediate; copies in our backups are overwritten within 30 days. |
| Guest data saved on our servers (favourites, ratings, scores and settings linked to a guest ID) | Each item is deleted automatically 12 months after it was last saved. |
| Weekly leaderboard entries | Kept with the game's history; deleted with your account, or on request. Guest entries are deleted automatically after 12 months. |
| Server logs | Up to 30 days, unless we need them longer to investigate a security incident. |
| "Keep me updated" and notify-me emails | Until you unsubscribe, or 12 months after subscriptions open, whichever is sooner. |
| Contact form messages | Deleted automatically 2 years after we receive them; deleted with your account. |
| Emails you send us directly | Up to 2 years after the conversation ends. |
| Feedback button messages | Deleted automatically 2 years after we receive them; deleted with your account. |
| PDF download records | 120 days, then deleted automatically; deleted with your account. |
| Payment and invoice records | As long as tax and accounting law requires (in Spain, up to 6 years), even after you delete your account. |
Under the GDPR you have the right to:
Email hello@teachstudyenglish.com from the address on your account. We may ask you to confirm your identity. We reply within one month (we can extend this by two months for complex requests, and will tell you if so). It's free.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first. You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority: in Spain, the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), or the authority where you live or work.
Anyone can use the lessons, worksheets and games without an account, which means we collect no personal data from them beyond normal server logs.
You must be at least 14 to create an account. Younger learners need a parent or guardian to agree to it, and should only use an account with their permission. Teachers using the site with a class of under-14s should project or print the materials rather than ask students to create accounts.
If you believe a child under 14 has given us personal data without a parent's permission, write to hello@teachstudyenglish.com and we'll delete it.
The site is served only over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Passwords are stored as one-way hashes (bcrypt), never in plain text. Access to the database is limited to the people who run the site, through secure credentials. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever puts your data at risk, we'll tell the data protection authority within 72 hours and tell you without delay where the law requires it.
We'll update this policy when the site changes, for example when payments open, and change the date at the top. If a change matters, we'll tell account holders by email or on the site before it takes effect.